British taxpayers have always been reluctant shareholders in RBS. Bailing out this bank, and for that matter Lloyds was never an "investment" in the typical sense of the word; it was part of an emergency recapitalisation plan. The government’s decision to start offloading taxpayers’ shares in RBS is a welcome one. Those who disapprove, bemoaning the "loss" that the government has made often demonstrate either poor understanding of the situation or wilful ignorance.